17 hidden iPhone hacks you never knew about

From charging the battery faster to taking a hands-free photo, these are the secret iPhone hacks you wish you knew about sooner.

By Brooke Nelson

It can be really frustrating when it seems to take forever to write a text message, not to mention finding there’s no available space for that quick snap you want to take. Luckily, there are lots of little tricks and tips to make things that littler bit quicker.

Focus the camera (without touching the screen!)

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Tapping your phone’s screen isn’t the only way to sharpen the camera lens. Instead, try holding your finger in the screen until the ‘AF Locked’ box appears at the top of the screen. Now the camera won’t lose its focus – no matter which way you twist and turn. Don’t leave this app open for too long though, as the camera uses up a lot of your battery power.

Take a photo when your storage is full

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That dreaded ‘Storage Full’ notification always pops up at the most inconvenient times – like when you want to snap a photo of your sister’s graduation or best friend’s wedding. Luckily, you can use the camera option in your Facebook or Twitter app, instead. By starting a new tweet or post, clicking the camera icon, and then snapping your photo, the resulting picture will be saved to your Camera Roll. Crisis averted!

Make the screen smaller

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If you’re a one-hand texter, you probably know the struggle of stretching your thumb across the phone’s wide screen. Try moving the keyboard closer to your left or right palm by holding on the Globe icon and selecting one of the keyboards that are positioned to either side. You can also get to this by going Settings > General > Keyboard > One-Handed Keyboard. Or, tap (not press) on the home button twice to shift the entire top of the iPhone screen down. Both tricks will make the entire screen much more accessible for the average-sized hand.

It can be really frustrating when it seems to take forever to write a text message, not to mention finding there’s no available space for that quick snap you want to take. Luckily, there are lots of little tricks and tips to make things that littler bit quicker.

Use the Compass app as a household tool

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Think that Compass app is useless? Think again. Swiping left in the app will activate a very practical tool: a digital spirit level. Now, you can finally straighten out that pesky picture frame.

Press one button to make a call

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Don’t waste time digging around your contacts for the last person you chatted with on the phone. Simply tap the green call button, and your phone will redial the last number you called.

Customise phone vibrations

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We all have that one person who takes forever to reply to our text messages. If you want to know the minute they do, just find them in your ‘Contacts’ list and hit ‘Edit’. From there, go to ‘Vibration’ and press the ‘Create New Vibration’ button to select a custom vibration for that person. Now you can always know when your crush texts you back.

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It can be really frustrating when it seems to take forever to write a text message, not to mention finding there’s no available space for that quick snap you want to take. Luckily, there are lots of little tricks and tips to make things that littler bit quicker.

Get more storage space

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Storage space is a hot commodity for the average iPhone user. To make the most of yours, hold down the ‘Power’ button, wait until you see the option to slide and power off your phone, and then hold down the ‘Home’ button. Doing so will clean out your phone’s RAM, which reduces the amount of space your apps might be taking up.